Canvas
by Ninjarific-Marmalaide
Summary: The girl kneeled and grasped a crisp fabric in between her fingers as if afraid to taint the unearthly white cloth with dirt or grime. She lifted it high in front of her. Today would be the day. The day she finally became a Gotei captain. HitsuxOC


Hey everyone! Welcome to the world of NinjarificMarmalaide! Once you get a taste, my friends, you'll either fall flat from the sheer yumminess or by being sliced in half by a butter knife (as a favor, those few shouldn't be allowed to pass their defected taste genes to their offspring). This is my first published fan fiction story, and I hope you all enjoy my young writing style and the storyline. If you do, let me know! I accept all forms of criticism because I'm here to learn.

Disclaimer – Bleach is a MASTER-PIECE the solely belongs to the genius known as Tite Kubo as well as the majority of the characters that I use. However, the protagonist was born from the womb of my brain and shouldn't be used by anyone other than myself. You have been warned (I may hunt you down with my butter knife!)

Alright, well, Enjoy! Disfruta!

~Love, Ninjarific

* * *

Chapter 1 - The Long Year

In the vacant quarters of a dim lit room, a young woman kneeled upon the traditional tatami mat and

grasped a crisp fabric in between her fingertips as if afraid to taint the unearthly white cloth with dirt or grime. Holding on by the two corners, she lifted it high in front of her, and without warning, the pit of her stomach filled with excitement for the upcoming day. Today would be the day.

She ignored the desire to slip her arms into the slits of the garment because she knew she would have to be patient for just a few hours more. Yet, as much as the wait disturbed her nerves, she knew it would be worth it because today would be the day.

She refolded the unsullied garment with the utmost care, and set it back down on the humble table, but not without a final longing stare at the prized possession. With a quick glance past the shoji doors, she could see the morning was slowly coming to an end. Time was passing much too slowly for her liking, but she forced herself to be patient for the fourth time since she had woken up. She straightened herself up and smoothed out the invisible wrinkles of her cotton night kimono. Then, she sighed and steeled herself because today would finally be the day.

The day that she became a Gotei captain.

* * *

Matsumoto let out a blatant sigh as she walked briskly back to her team's office grounds. It was days like these when she would rather abandon her duties as fukutaicho and escape to the tranquility of the local bathhouse or release stress by chugging a few bottles of sake but today, there just wasn't enough time.

The clouds glazed the light blue sky with cottony white and muted the intense heat that would normally shine down in the late summer while the wind played with her hair and tickled her cheeks with serene playfulness. But, despite the day's childish atmosphere, Matsumoto couldn't help but feel distressed. Seriousness clearly defined her composure and caused her brows to furrow, clouding her usually delicate facial features.

"Has is it really only been a year?" she said quietly to herself, tilting her head to the sky. Normally, she avoided losing herself in memories, but the thoughts suddenly drowned her without consent. It truly had been only about a year since the Winter War had ended, but the time had yet to ease any of the trouble the battles had caused. Matsumoto could almost see the final battle tangible in front of her, even now, after all this time. The horror and panic of war was an experience that was too difficult to shake off. It could turn the stomachs of the most feared soldiers, and Matsumoto was no exception. Her stomach churned at the thought of all the blood she had witnessed spilled. She looked down at her left hand, slowly opening and closing her fingers, enabling her muscles to stretch and squeeze.

_I shouldn't be able to do this_, she solemny remembered.

_The chill of the winter had never felt so ominous. Winter hadn't an enemy to Matsumoto, rather, the snow normally enveloped her in friendship and comfort. However, this time, the dire conditions inverted the seasonal companion into a burdening force to be reckoned with._

_Behind her, Matsumoto could hear Orihime's light panting. This time, it was Hisagi's turn to painfully groan under the beams of Inoue's power. That girl had consistently overexerted herself to heal unfortunate shinigami during the battle on the outskirts of the Rukongai, but Matsumoto knew that confrontation would be inevitable. With Aizen and Gin gone to Karakura, hundreds of pathetic hollows resurfaced in the rural lands to distract the already wounded soldiers from following the real danger. Matsumoto knew that, despite her recent training, Inoue would be much too weak from her techniques to protect herself. Even with Unohana-taicho to aid in the healing of so many wounded, Matsumoto remained there for the sake of being a bodyguard._

_In the distance, out by the horizon, Matsumoto sensed the specks of reiatsu of her companions and enemies flitting about, each one a different intensity, like fireflies, decorating her inner eye. Squeezing her eyes tightly, Matsumoto tried to distinguish the familiar auras, but the more effort she put in concentrating, the more muddled their coordinates became. Worse, she could feel no constant blaring presence of power from the likes of a certain white-haired captain._

_"Taichou..."Matsumoto tentatively opened her eyes, revealing the tragic battlefield once again. According to Unohana, Hitsugaya had pursued Aizen and Gin as they left to invade the human town just as she and her companions escaped Hueco Mundo. She had risked the lives of her nakama for the single chance to see Toushiro, to see him breathing, to see him in one piece after all this...this...this mess! Instead, she arrived to stage of danger without even a glimpse of Taichou's shadow._

_'I was selfish, but I won't repeat my mistake,' she carefully thought to herself, 'But I just wanted to be sure he was alright, that his heroics hadn't driven him to death! He's still just a kid.'_

_Matsumoto clenched the hilt of her zanpakutou, tightening until her knuckles turned as white as the gleaming metal itself. She began to realize how unprepared she was for a battle of this intensity. Her mediocre skills, her meek attacks? What good were they against warriors like the Espada? Even if she was strong enough to conquer the weaker members, it was only possible at her full potential. She was deluded if she thought she could defeat anyone when every muscle ached with sheer agony. She had to admit that she could hardly move. _

_Lost in the reverie, Matsumoto jolted when her arm was touched by a trembling warm hand. She turned to meet the honey-glazed eyes of her companion and friend, Orihime Inoue. Matsumoto reached out just in time to snatch the weakened girl before her body had a chance to collapse on the ground of fatigue. _

_"Inoue! Inoue-chan, are you alright?" Matsumoto pleaded for an answer, but the kind-hearted girl only looked up with a chaste smile. _

_"Ne, Ranguki-san, is there anyone left?"_

_Matsumoto steeled her countenance. There were still so many that suffered from their wounds, but how could she have the heart to relay just how pathetic their situation was? _

_"Just relax, Inoue, everything is going to be fine. No one is dying."_

_"Not yet, anyway," chuckled a chilling voice._

_Matsumoto gasped, twisting her head in time to anticipate a high-speed impact targeting them. She tossed Inoue far enough for her land on a mound of snow to cushion the blow, but she was bashed by the unabated attack hard on her left side. She yelped and instantly felt the difficultly of breathing as the left column of her ribs shattered in her chest. _

_From the agony, Matsumoto howled in horror and cursed the creature that had aimed for them. She cracked her eyes open as she gnashed her teeth in an effort to avoid fainting from the pain. Above her frigid body, a festering hollow lumbered and examined its prey. Matsumoto's eyes shot open when she realized something completely unexpected about the beast._

_Its mask…it lacked a mouth. Neither teeth nor lips nor fangs could be seen. It was as if the seam of its lips had simply been expunged from its mask! The sound of its odious voice was heard again, but Matsumoto could see no lips move, no tongue flick._

_"Oh, what a gorgeous morsel I have caught. What luck to have stumbled upon this! Tell me, child, aren't you going to pull out your toy and fight back? I do like my dinner to be a bit more challenging," the monster commented, its jovial tone unbefitting the bleak circumstances._

_Risking puncturing her internal organs, Matsumoto twisted to the left and tried to reach for her weapon, but black invaded the fringes of her senses. She couldn't grasp the hilt; her muscles refused to respond to her commands!_

_'Damn it! Just grab it!' her consciousness screamed. Matsumoto felt her head sway as she rapidly lost any ability stay awake. She tried to look at her attacker, but its features were obscured, and she could not hold back from vomiting. The trauma was just too much. She gagged again, this time coughing bile accompanied by blood from her damaged insides. _

_"Aw, well, that's too bad," teased the hollow in a mocking tone, "I'll just have to pull you out of your misery sooner than I had hoped."_

_Matsumoto laid back down on her back, unaware of the monster's approaching form. The chill of the season crept into her clothes and enveloped her pallid body. She mustered the last efforts of her mind to keep from blacking out. Had she ever really believed that she was strong at all? How could she after suffering so much from only one blow?_

_Suddenly, Matsumoto noticed the inescapable shadow of the Hollow on her debilitated side. In it's proximity, she saw the creature raise its right hand with utter languor. There, in the center of the palm, a purple tongue slithered out of a sanguine mouth lined with jagged yellow fangs filed and glimmering. Before Matsumoto could protest in disgust, the creature positioned its unorthodox cavity by her collapsed chest and sheathed her arm. _

_The sensation shocked Matsumoto out of her stupor as the moisture of the cavern crept up her biceps. She only had a moment to inhale sharply before..._

_CLAMP_

_Matsumoto could only scream. _

"Oi, Matsumoto!" growled a familiar voice.

The image of battle vanished before Rangiku's eyes as she realized that, in her mindless meandering, she stumbled to her original destination. Looking up, she grinned brightly at her stern captain, completely erasing the look of distress draping her face.

"There you are, Taichou! Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!" Rangiku chastised her younger commander.

"Matsumoto, don't insult me with those ridiculous tricks. I wasn't born yesterday," he scoffed.

"Of course I don't think that, Taichou! Not with that grandpa hair of yours!" Rangiku made his blood boil teasing and ruffling his silver hair.

Rangiku scampered off with a quick step and giggled when she left behind a furiously yelling captain waving for her to come back to her pending work. Despite the long year that had passed, so little had changed. Rangiku slowed and looked back lovingly at the speck of white in the distance still flailing in protest. He was still the same hard-ass leader, arrogant and wise beyond his years. Yet, now, Rangiku had to reach up to ruffle the bush of hair on his head. With some stroke of luck, a series of growth spurts had caused the short adolescent to incredulously shoot up in height. Now, Matsumoto could see that her captain was no longer the dwarf of a boy demanding attention as he stood with a stature and aura of an accomplished man.

"Matsumoto, don't be late for the induction ceremony! You had better be there!"

Yes, it had only been a year, but this year had served as both an end and a beginning. The pain of war was finally dissipating, and a new time was growing nearer and nearer. As the last captain position was at last filled, it was proof that this year would only just be the beginning.

So…Did you guys like it? Ooooh, don't keep me waiting! Please review and critic! I would extremely appreciate it! My audience is my sensei : ] I will try to update about every fortnight or, if I get fettish, in a week. I want to keep up with this story as best as I can!

P.S. Thank you, my lovely-sexy asian-beauty for being such a great beta already with the first chapter! Love you my Squ! Your pineapple bows to you.


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